Hackers claim to have secret 9/11 documents, demand Bitcoin ransom

A hacker group that goes by the name “The Dark Overload” says it has obtained 18,000 sensitive documents that reveal a 9/11 conspiracy. But the group isn’t interested in letting the American public in on their alleged secret. They just want money, preferably in Bitcoin.

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“We’re motivated only by our pursuit of internet money,” the group said in a lengthy statement on a coding forum.

The documents, which the group is calling the “9/11 papers,” reportedly come from lawsuits and insurance claims made in relation to September 11, 2001. The group is asking for $2 million in Bitcoin from the targeted companies. “Pay the f— up, or we’re going to bury you with this,” their threat says.

Smart TVs and Chromecasts
Two hackers who go by the pseudonyms Hacker Giraffe and j3ws3r are going public with their latest hack. The duo announced that they have manipulated strangers’ Chromecasts and smart TVs so that the devices played a message urging people to subscribe to the YouTube comedian PewDiePie.

It’s an unusual thing to brag about, but championing a YouTube personality wasn’t really the point of the hack. On a website the duo created and urged hacking victims to visit, they explain that they are just trying to warn people about the dangers of hacking and the vulnerabilities of their personal devices.

“We want to help you, and also our favorite YouTubers (mostly PewDiePie),” the duo writes on their site . “We’re only trying to protect you and inform you of this before someone takes real advantage of it. Imagine the consequences of having access to the information above.”

University employees
Officials with Wichita State University are blaming their employees for falling for an email phishing scam. The university told the The Wichita Eagle newspaper that three employees lost their paychecks as a result.

The affected employees had received an email from hackers asking for their university IDs and passwords. The hackers then used that information to gain access to the employees’ bank accounts and divert their direct deposits.

It’s unclear if the three employees will be refunded.

Hackers stole nearly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2018
If it seems like cryptocurrency hacks were getting reported every week or so last year, that’s because they were. A new analysis in the Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering Report put a tally on 2018 crypto-thefts.

Hackers stole a total of $927 million from cryptocurrency exchanges last year. They were able to carry out the heists because — surprise! — there are security vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrency exchanges and software.